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| Full name | Valladolid Rugby Asociación Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1986; 40 years ago (1986) | ||
| Location | Valladolid, Spain | ||
| Ground | Estadio Pepe Rojo (Capacity: 5,000) | ||
| Chairman | Jorge Calleja "Hollister" | ||
| Coach | Diego Merino | ||
| League | División de Honor | ||
| 2023–24 | División de Honor,1st /W | ||
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| Official website | |||
| vracrugby | |||
Valladolid Rugby Asociación Club is a professional Spanishrugby union club. The club was established in 1986 and currently competes in theDivisión de Honor de Rugby competition, the highest level of Spanish club rugby. The club are based inValladolid in central Spain. VRAC play in blue and white colours. The team have in the past won both the Spanish League and the Copa del Rey de Rugby. They play atEstadio Pepe Rojo.
Valladolid RAC's first foray into Europe was in the2001–02 European Challenge Cup. Playing in a pool withLondon Irish (England),Dax (France) andL'Aquila (Italy), they lost all six games.
The 2003–04 season saw a change in format in theEuropean Challenge Cup. Teams played in a knockout format, over two legs, in each round. First round losing teams then played in a new, third tier, Shield competition. Having lost heavily home and away to England'sNewcastle Falcons in Round 1 of the2003–04 European Challenge Cup, they dropped into theEuropean Shield. Here their performance against Italy'sOvermach Parma was better, but nevertheless they again lost home and away.
The 2004–05 season was a close repeat of 2003–04: heavy losses home and away to Italy'sViadana in theChallenge Cup was followed by even heavier defeats at the hands of England'sLeeds in theShield.
As the winners of the2011–12 División de Honor de Rugby and the championship playoff, Valladolid RAC qualified to play in the2012–13 European Challenge Cup but turned down the opportunity due to economic factors.[1]Gernika RT took their place and represented Spain.
As the winners of the 2013–14 División de Honor championship, VRAC qualified to play the Iberian Rugby Cup against CDUL of Lisbon, winning the game and the title.
In 2015/16 season, Valladolid RAC as the champion of the 2014/15 División de Honor championship, represented Spain at the Qualifying Competition of the European Rugby Challenge Cup. In this competition VRAC won two games, againstRoyal Kituro Rugby Club (Belgium) andMogliano Rugby (Italy) but lost againstGrupo Desportivo Direito (Portugal) andTimișoara Saracens (Romania).
| Season | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | PF | PA | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 Challenge Cup | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 53 | 307 | −254 |
| 2003–04 Challenge Cup | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 137 | −100 |
| 2003–04 Shield | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 42 | −23 |
| 2004–05 Challenge Cup | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 147 | −137 |
| 2004–05 Shield | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 174 | −163 |
| 2015/16European Rugby Challenge Cup Qualifying Competition | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 114 | 68 | 46 |
| Summary | 18 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 234 | 875 | −641 |
Note: Flags indicate national union underWorld Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
Víctor AcevedoFernando de la CalleAníbal Fernando BonanBenjamín PardoNacho Müller
Glen RollsNacho Molina
Sgt. Adam Newton (English Armed Services XV, England U18) Gareth Griffiths (former player from Bath, international England U18, U19)Mike Davis (International New Zealand Sevens)
Lisandro Arbizu (Player/Coach 2012-2014, Argentina international 1990-2005 Cpt 1992-1999)[2]
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These are difficult times. The poor economic situation greatly complicates find sponsors who will assist the VRAC Entrepinares again leave their mark in Europe ten years after the last time you did.
